I photographed an area of the lake with 120 kodak portra 400 film, a few days into January just after the ice had thawed. Having decided to focus on using analogue images for my book, I wanted to have a wider selection of images to see whether I could have a balance of colour and black/white photographs to choose from. By this point, I had identified several areas of the lake that I was drawn to, so although I engaged in a walk, I had a preconceived idea about where I was going. I attempted to note down a few words as a sort of poetry. Having been influenced by Mary Oliver’s nature poetry, especially her ability to say as she see’s, I wanted to practice this. I am not sure I want to use words alongside my work, I will most likely make a late decision on this!
These photographs will be included in my book. The first & third photographs (reading top left to right) are particular favourites, I like their abstract nature as this fits with my theme and at the time, I was instinctive in my shooting. I didn’t think too much about framing or outcomes, I just spotted something that appealed to me, somehow carried some meaning for me and took a photograph.
The film itself is ideal for my subject. The colours are soft, a little too green in places but I think there is a good balance of tones throughout. The shoot was earlier in the day, compared to much of my work and it was a flat, dense cloud overhead. The film choice is quite forgiving I think. These could print well, I am excited to see how they will sit alongside my black and white photographs.
This is the analogue shoot I did alongside the digital one on the same day. I used Ilford 400 film, which has been reliable and forgiving in a broad range of conditions. I had loaded the film before heading to the lake, I wanted to photograph without having to think too much.. however, this did become tricky at times when I couldn’t feel my hands! I moved slowly around the lake, listening and feeling the environment. I studied the places I have walked many times before but noted how they were almost unrecognisable in this new, icy world. An entiurely different atmosphere exists, it was both eerie and intriguing. My curiosity meant I stayed much longer than planned, fascinated by the images frozen on the lake surface. I literally couldn’t stop watching. Nothing moved. It was silent and as the sun went down, a pink, orange, winter sky cast its image across the ice. It was so beautiful. I wrote a short poem in response:
winter spreads its cloak across the lake frozen images, as though printed on satin, hold soft light silence reigns, I just hear myself, living, breathing in place. Trees are looking down at me, their branches hiding the tiny spies who watch my every move.
I plan to use several images from this shoot in my final book. I love the texture in the images and the light, I keep reflecting on how easily I could have stayed at home in the warm! I would have missed out on an experience, let alone th opportunity for some photographs.
This is a slide show of my most recent shoot, this was during a frozen spell at the turn of the year, this turned the lake at Dacha into a whole other world. I spent a few late afternoons walking through here as the light faded, it had a completely different feel to it. There was no wind and it was eerily still you can see from several of the images that even with a slow shutter, there is little movement in the trees branches. There is a satin effect on the surface of the middle lake, I love how the fading light makes it shine silver, and the tree branches frozen in time poking out from the ice. There is a stillness to the photographs that signifies a sort of solitude and silence, which is as I have been trying to portray in my subject.
I was quite excited at the results of this shoot, Being able to view them immediately once I returned home, I could easily identify those which I would like to add to my list of potential images for my submission. I had also taken photographs in tandem, with my analogue camera. I was hopeful I might have some images from this that I could use in my book or for my final exhibition piece. I am still undecided on how I will separate my images from analogue / digital and colour / black and white. Or even, whether its necessary to have this as a concern at all.
This was a shoot which really helped me to pin down what I was trying to do. I loved most of the photographs from this session, it was chilly, getting dark and by the time I finished it the moon was climbing high in the sky. I used long exposures with my digital camera on a tripod. Sometimes as long as 5 minutes. I hadn’t done much night work up to this point and wanted to see what results I might achieve.
I have converted a few of the images to black and white as I think this added to a sense of timelessness The jackdaws in the trees were very vocal, as were the pheasants! As it was their time of day to set up roost in the trees. This was tricky to capture on camera but I rather like the movement in the treetops whilst also revealing the silhouette of the birds settling there for the night. The canopy of the trees was especially dramatic because of the clear sky and full moon that night. They cast their silhouette on the lake and so with the longer exposure I had the effect of smoth mirror like surface of the water and the reflection of light cloud, branches and leaves which had slight blur to them.
This work was a joy to make and the focus on just a few small areas of the lake meant again that I just surrounded myself with the landscape and really felt a part of it.
As I was about to leave, I turned around and saw the perfect reflection of the moon in a puddle. I got the camera back out and photographed it, also the scene of the driveway down to the area of the property where the rented sheds are.
The work here really doesn’t quite fit visually with my narrative though. I am being less concerned about that when actually shooting because thats my aim but when it comes to sequencing a book or selecting work for the gallery wall, I think it sits alone. It is likely I will create a separate body of work for another project having been inspired by this shoot.
These photographs were shot on Ilford 400 film on a grey, overcast afternoon. Although fairly late in the day, it is on occasion I bit flat for photography! However, I decide that as I am not focussing on representation of the landscape but being in it, that is less of a concern.
This time for my practice in this area of woodland, I decided to use both cameras (digital and analogue) For the digital photographs, see blog post Guiting Wood (digital) 25.11.25I wanted to go straight from the ‘settling in’ period with my digital camera and into my more immersive practice with the Mamiya. (this shouldn’t necessarily suggest I don’t operate mindfully with my digital, but that I am more so when I get to use my analogue, having familiarised myself with the environment)
This area of the wood is very quiet. There is an old collapsing building with the remnants of agricultural machinery gradually being consumed by the landscape. There are some eerie looking foundation stones from what I assume would have been an old agricultural barn, although I can’t find any reference to it to confirm. They really resemble gravestones in the way they all face the same way and lean as the ground gives way to them. Given their position, I wonder how long the trees have been there and which came first. I remember coming here many times as a child and I remember it being almost exactly as it is now.
Having already photographed the area with my other camera, I moved from location to location (all within 50 metres) with my camera on a tripod and positioned it for a while before taking a photograph. I spent time in the space, thinking and feeling my surroundings. Many times I didn’t take a photo, instead choosing to relocate.
My most successful photograph is the one shown below. I felt as though I was part of the landscape at this point, I was surrounded by it as I nestled in to the bank of the pond and just sat there a while. The corvids above were raucous but befitting. The moment was only broken by the sound of a small plane going over me above. I like that there is so much going on in this photograph, the scene is framed by the trees and the fallen branch in the water in the distance helps to anchor the image. The reflections in the water create some ambiguity which I always favour.
This is the analogue version of the shoot that I did at the end of October – see blog entry Guiting Wood : digital 31.10.25. I revisited to photograph this place as it is of particular importance to me, I detail in the earlier blog post about this.
As I am getting used to being more present with my environment, I spent some time walking though this area of landscape, initially with my running group, who after a while set off in another direction to allow me to focus on my space. I walked slowly, looking all around me, bending down to look underneath objects, letting my hand hang in the water for a short while (its very cold!) and looking up at the tree canopy to see what hides there.
Once I started to shoot, I felt fully present in the place. Nothing else distracting me, I set my camera on a tripod and placed it in the water of the pond. All the of the images are taken from within a few metres of this same spot, I only moved the tripod a few metres for each shot and let it sit in place for a while whilst I just watched and listened. There are no roads or built up areas close by so I could only hear the water, reminding me of Nan Shepherds description of water in her book The Living Mountain (see my blog bost: Women and the embodied landscape) and the birds calling above.
Once I had the film developed I felt the images weren’t as strong as I had hoped, albeit an honest gallery of a mindful experience. However, I am very drawn to the close images of the water itself, especially the one with the leaf because you can see the reflection of the trees above which serves to emphasise the ripples in the waters surface. This reminds me a little of Van Goughs ‘Starry Starry Night’ painting with its distinctive shape of the cypress tree and the swirly patterns in the skyscape.
Mamiya 7ii 80mm lens. Handheld. Shot at around 7.30pm, bright sunny day.
This was a particularly bright day, I had Delta 100 film in the camera, which I don’t normally use but I wanted to give it a try. Immediately it appears more metallic than the Ilford that I’m used to but that’s not to say I don’t like these, on the contrary, I can see how some ambiguity and abstract compositions might be an effective method of conveying my theme. The images remind me a little of some of the photographs from a series by Marjolein Marjolein in her series ‘Riverland’ (fig 1)
Fig1. ‘Riverland‘ Marjolein Martinot, 2022
My favourite image is no 5. At first it looks as though it could be a charcoal drawing and then I noticed the reflections, you can see the bottom of the lake because the water is so clear, there is debris on the surface, reflections from the trees above, the weed and debris on the bottom makes it a possibility for a large scale print.
I had explored the lakes slowly, having already been around once with my digital camera. I tried to think about my surroundings, the heat had been quite intense and was levelling off a bit given the time of day. There was a very distinct stillness all around, insects could be seen above the water, and light bounced off every shiny surface. All in all it was a perfect summer evening. The was a a lot of algae visible on the surface of the water, in some areas make it look like solid ground. Under the shade of the woodland I photographed under the canopy of the trees, I noticed the reflections and the shapes they made, the initial investigation with the digital camera really enabled me to pause and reflect more on a second walk around. Its worth using this method of documenting and exploring again, it is as if I need to use up some mental and physical energy first.
I took my Nikon out and treated the activity just as a walk rather than a photoshoot. Some of my photographs were banal but I’ve selected a few that I felt had the beginning of something more meaningful. Successes for me are the shots under the tree canopy at the waters edge. I, like many people am drawn to water and this is the place which contains the memories of mid summer when the lake is used for leisure and the teens ‘hang out’ on its banks. The swan is reclaiming its territory here, with everyone now headed home. I have ideas for other projects which centre on this lake. It centres around the summer months when it is very much in use by family and friends. Of course, thats not possible for this final project because it is being carried out over Autumn and Winter, when the landscape takes on a whole new meaning for me. A place of solitude and quiet where I get to lose myself in my own thoughts.
I shot alongside using my analogue camera, the images from that can be seen on the following post. The light was very bright even though late in the day and it was surprisingly tricky to get the balance right.
At this moment I was very much still trying to narrow down my theme and now, writing this up and having developed this further, I am not sure how these may / may not fit. I think that they do tell part of the story of the place itself.
In the first few images of the ‘square lake’ I have concentrated on the aspect of the lake which we use for socialising. My children are there as soon as the temperature climbs in the spring, until the last of the summer warmth. There is a deep connection with this place, when I think about the summers spent here and some essence of each of us remaining, memories are literally contained here and the rope swing in particular symbolises that. I admit to a tinge of sadness when I photographed this, knowing that this is another year of a rapidly disappearing childhood done. I think that may be why I chose to convert the tree and rope swing images in to black and white. I didn’t want the distraction of colour to detract from the memory. The garden hoe was used by the children to ‘grab’ the handle of the rope swing to pull it back in, ready for the next launch. The presence of the swan, peacefully swimming along whilst I photographed, did make me think about how it is probably enjoying the peace and quiet now. The white chair in the background, and also of the yellow boat on the late, as well as the kayak on the shore, is further intended to show where someone once was, enjoying the surroundings.
The next set of images is from the adjacent lake, this is less used as a ‘playground’ as it is close to holiday yurts that my mother and stepfather rent out. Also manmade, these have over the years changed shape as my stepfather digs out channels and creates small island areas for the wildlife. Not one to leave things be, he enjoys creating spaces for all (people, plants and animals alike) which results in an abundant landscape. For these images, I was able to concentrate on smaller details, like the reflections of the trees, plants and the exposed roots. This was taken at a time when Southern areas of the UK had no rain for 45 consecutive days. The impact of this was so clear to me when I took these photos. Areas of the lake were completely dried up and you could walk from one section to another, without getting wet! Even the algae bloom was everywhere this year which you can clearly see on the lake surface. I like the traces of the ducks etc in the water, revealing where they’ve been, which of course would be impossible without the algae.
I think I have some nice photographs but none of them really say anything about what I am trying to create. I do feel some frustration at this stage, I have also photographed using my analogue camera, I am hopeful that the film will be more rewarding as I have taken more time with it, with only 10 frames per roll of film, it commands a slower, more considered approach. I have realised I am almost using my digital camera to document this process.
This was an early shoot with my analogue camera, I tried a few ideas out when at Dacha and also when I was away in France at my in laws. I hadn’t thought too much about these images at the time but on reflection, I decided to include several in my analogue book (images 6, 8 & 9) these were taken when we had a very hot period over summer, I shot the photographs at Dacha in bright sunshine and I think this shows in the colour photographs, the greens are not right and the overall scene looks too bright. I do like image 1 but this doesn’t fit well with what eventually will become my series. This shoot was predominantly about getting used to a new camera and to practice being present in the landscape.
In image 9, I particularly like the reflection of the clouds in the sky. It looks as though someone has swished a paintbrush across the centre of the scene. I like the many shapes around the frame of the picture, from the trees on the bank of the lake and the leaf debris floating on the top of the water. I think there is quite a lot going on in this frame.
For photograph 6, this shows the extent of the dry summer on this part of the lake. The bank was bare and dry, the water level is very low. It signifies the time of year as well as aims to lead the mind to wander what is around the corner, in my direction of travel. I have included this in my final selection as it acts as a link between images.
In photograph 8, I like the various shapes here, this emphasises how my stepfather alters the shape of the place. In the two photographs below you can see what was originally there when they created the lakes back in the 1990s. It is a very different place now and it has changed shape many times, almost like an ongoing large scale work of art!
Lucinda Taylor 